Personalized stoneware is a long lasting and meaningful investment. It’s both functional and artistic and serves to beautify your environment. However, you need to be careful when purchasing or placing an order for a stoneware as some are made in better quality to others. To ensure you don’t buy substandard stoneware, carefully evaluate the craftsmanship, materials, and overall production process. No matter what form of stoneware you want to buy, you need to make an informed decision so you can get the most from your material.
Finding Quality Sources
Before going to purchase any stoneware, research places where your orders will be answered quickly without compromising quality. As much as you can, make sure the person handling your order is a professional.
Local Artisan Studios: You can obtain high quality stoneware through small artisan studios. These artisans usually make handmade pieces and offer unique customization options. Buying stoneware from local studios will allow you meet the artisan to discuss the details of your design and your preferences. Materials are crafted with precision, ensuring that each piece has carefully applied yet unique details. Unlike mass produced stoneware from big industries, local artisans pay closer attention to detail during their crafting.
Quality Verification: When you choose a piece of stoneware, you have to conduct a thorough quality check to ensure your material is upto standard. To check for quality, you can flick the surface of the stoneware and note the sound you hear. If it’s clear and high pitched, it means the stoneware was properly fired but a dull sound may indicate that the structure is weak. You can also run your fingers along the edges, if it’s smooth without rough spots or cracks, then you can be assured of your material’s quality. To verify the thickness, hold your stoneware up to a light source and inspect it. If the thickness is not uniform, there might be heat retention issues.
Quality Indicators
Upon getting your stoneware, there are some things you can check that will indicate if your stoneware was made up to standard. If you can identify these things, you’ll be able to know when you’re being sold substandard goods.
Material Excellence: High quality stoneware is known to have a dense non porous makeup. This will make it highly resistant to chips, and cracks. To confirm this, the stoneware should feel solid and heavy in your hand, this indicates proper firing. If it’s well made, there should also be a smooth uniform glaze with no drips or rough patches. High quality stoneware also shows consistent colouring with no forms of discoloration or fading. If there is inconsistency in colouration, it may be a sign of rushed production.
Craftsmanship Signs: Although having a good material play a very important role in ensuring that your stoneware is made to standard, level of craftsmanship plays an important role also. Stonewares made by experienced artisans will have well defined curves and dimensions that are properly proportioned. High quality stonewares should also have a silky smooth texture. If the texture is rough or gritty, it can be an indication of improper glazing. A skilled artisan will also craft your personalization details with precision, no matter how intricate it may be.
Warranty Considerations: As personalized stoneware are usually more expensive than general ones, ensuring warranty coverage is very important before any purchase. Usually, stoneware manufacturers offer warranties that cover structural flaws and material inconsistencies. Some other warranties cover chips or cracks that may happen due to natural conditions. Some other manufacturers offer repair services since customized pieces cannot be easily replaced. Make sure you check the warranty terms to know what is and what is not included in your warranty.
Production Timeline: Personalized stoneware passes through a more meticulous crafting process than general pieces. Usually the crafting time usually takes about 6-8 weeks. This duration covers the handcrafting and shaping process done by the artisans. It also covers the initial firing stage at 1020⁰C and the final firing stage at 1200⁰C. Final quality checks are also done within this time period. Although, this process is longer than buying ready made stonewares, obtaining a high quality material completely unique to you is worth it.
Also keep in mind that each handcrafted stoneware will contain variations from others, don’t consider these variations as defects, instead you can look at them as proof of being custom made.
If you have any questions or need to custom dinnerware service, please contact our Email:info@gcporcelain.com for the most thoughtful support!
